The Contreras for Loaiza trade has paid immediate dividends for the Sox after Contreras' second consecutive strong start. Yesterday, he only gave up 2 hits through 7 innings before running into some minor problems in the 8th. He gave up 3 more hits but only one run as he was helped out of a jam by some bad Cleveland baseruning.
It’s only two starts (14 IP, 10 hits, 3ER, 2BB, 12K) but it looks like Contreras has some wicked stuff. I guess we’ll get a better idea of what we have when he faces off against Boston at Fenway on Friday night. His lack of success against Boston is the only reason he's pitching for us right now.
At the time of the trade, Loiaza had an ERA .80 lower than Contreras. As of now, that difference is down to .20 (4.97 compare to 5.17). I predict that Contreras will in fact end the year with a better ERA than Loaiza and that Contreras will get his below 5.00 while Loaiza will end up above it.
It's been a disappointing two weeks, but getting Contreras for what remains of Loaiza might be the best thing that happens this season.